Autism

peainapod

I am a single mother of 2 and my youngest daughter has just been diagnosed with severe learning disabilities and autism. Could anyone let me know what I would be entitled to ?
I already get income support and housing/council tax benefit, child tax credit and benefit, just wondering what she would be entitled to which we could then use for any adjustments I would need to make at home and also transport costs to her special school if that's where she'll go, I'm not too sure yet.
Thanks

Absolutely

It really depends on the circumstances. You MAY be entitled to DLA (Disability Living Allowance) for your child. The main thing is you have to prove your child has care and attention needs over and above a "normal" child.

I have one child with severe learning difficulties and autism (also partially sighted and has leukaemia). He was awarded DLA from the age of about 3.

He attended nursery from age 2 to help him with his problems.

He is now 6 years old and attends a Special Needs School. The local council offer the transport, so he gets picked up and dropped off.

The best thing I did was get allocated a Social Worker. They put me in touch with the Children with Disability Team. It's very early days for you. Good luck. Things will not happen overnight. It takes time and effort but being in touch with the right people/agencies will help a great deal.

Beki88

The main thing you need to apply for is DLA.
Once you get that it opens doors, you can get an increase in child tax credits and if middle rate care is awarded then you can also get carers allowance.

I would speak to CAB or your local welfare officer to help with the form as it is not easy to fill in!
I wish you luck!

peainapod

Great thanks guys will look into it all

happy_lass

i have a 20 year old daughter who has been getting high rate care and mobility for years now. Its just been made indefinate for her too, although indefinate doesnt really mean anything cos it can still get reviewed at any time. My daughter is severely autistic and severe learning difficulties. The DLA forms are a nightmare to fill in and i am not sure if your child is too young for DLA (although i will stand to be corrected) cos i think my daughter was about 5 when we first applied. I was told then that she could only recieve DLA from the age of 5 but the rules might of changed since then. The forms are long and repetative ( i am sure they do that to try and trip you up) and i would advise you to take at least agood few days to fill them in. You need to be brutally honest on these forms and they make for very depressing reading once you have filled it all in. Its no good saying "my child has no danger sense" you have to go into great detail about how they have no danger sense and what would happen etc etc in a dangerous situation that most other people would take for granted. For instance, my daughter went through a phase of constantly trying to touch a hot iron when i was using it. She was about 8 years old then !!
If i were you, i would give the benefits enquiry line a ring on 0800 882 200 . They can explain more about what you might be entitled to.

happy_lass

oh yeah, one more thing. When you fill the form in, dont forget to put in as many supporting letters as possible. Not letters from family cos that wont mean jack s hit to DWP but letters from Doctors, Specialists, Social Workers, Health Visitors etc etc

stassy23

my son gets dla he was first 3 when we received it but you cant claim mobility part til the age of 5
good luck with all the forms get someone to help you with them xx

Hopeful1

It may help to contact organisations such as National Autistic Society too. The will be able to signpost you to lots of useful people / groups etc

Best wishes

kingfisherblue

stassy23 wrote: »

my son gets dla he was first 3 when we received it but you cant claim mobility part til the age of 5
good luck with all the forms get someone to help you with them xx

This post is slightly inaccurate - you can claim high rate mobility from the age of three, or low rate from the age of five. The care component can be claimed from the age of three months, although obviously this would not happen with autism, as it would not be apparant at that age.

I know of a few children with autism who get high rate mobility because of the severity of their condition.

SaLoGo

If your claim for DLA is successful and you are on IS (or earning less than £100 a week in employment) you can also claim Carer's Allowance which is about £55 per week, but it will reduce your IS by about £20. Also, let the Tax Credits know. There is a disability premium of around £50 but I think you may need to be getting middle rate care to get that.

Js_Other_Half

http://www.cerebra.org.uk/English/getinformation/publications/Pages/DLAGuide.aspx is a very good guide by a charity on how to to complete the form.